Peace in Pieces

In this section of the reading we find Marji experience the horrors of war. We get a very intimate and enlightening view of the machinery of war - not only the planes and the bombs but the nuts and bolts of the war machine itself- how, why and with what wars are fought and the price it enacts on the public.

As we see from the text soon after the Islamic Revolution Saddam Hussein, taking advantage of the state of internal turmoil the country was in, decided to attack Iran is a cowardly fashion. Clearly, Saddam Hussein wanted to be the power player in the region. Before the Islamic revolution the Shah, who was essentially the United States puppet and had its significant military backing, was the key player in the region next to Israel. However, this new Islamic Regime in Iran was a quickly becoming a real problem for the US. As we learn from the text the US embassy was attacked at the employees taken hostage, the US had to counter this threat in any way possible. And they found their solution in Saddam Hussein. During the Iraq- Iran wars the US actively supported the Iraqi war effort by supplying the Iraqis with billions of dollars of of credits, by providing US military intelligence and by closely monitoring third country arms sales to Iraq. Marji does not go into great details about why the war starts - she simply chooses to begin by saying that Saddam Hussein attacked Iran and this starts the war. She does not go into great details about the history and geopolitical reasons behind this war. This is understandable since this is a graphic novel not a history book. But she does not fail to give us the bigger picture - that wars are fought not on the basis of truth but usually on the basis of lies and deceit. And that the public is woefully unaware of the truth.

I get the feeling that the new regime in Iran saw this war as a blessing in disguise. As soon as the war started they started playing the national anthem, which was repressed for more than a year, in the hopes of unifying the masses under the banner of jingoistic patriotism. The war also put the brakes on any leftist movement as the regime cracked down hard on anything deemed counter to their ideology. As often the case, in times of great upheavals the state usurps powers and exercises it mercilessly on its oppositions. Similar situation happened in the US soon after the September 11th attacks. The government using fear as the motivating factor cracked down on any individual or group criticizing its policy.

We also see that wars are fought mostly by the poor. The poor class are usually not very educated and hence they are easily swayed. Add to that the fact that they have no economic means of supporting themselves and joining the army is an easy way - at least in theory-to get ahead in life. And to make this transition easy their is always the bribe factor. In some cases those rewards are to be had after you have fulfilled your duties in the afterlife- that way you can have anything you want! In some cases however, the reward is given before that fact - hence the signing bonus!